Gig goers in the UK don’t come more prolific or well loved than Bristol’s own Big Jeff Johns. He has become somewhat of a cult figure throughout the years, attending nearly every show Bristol has to offer and more recently launching a popular art exhibition that aims to encourage the conversation around mental health. It has therefore come as a great shock to learn that he has been hospitalised with “very serious injury” at a fire at his home in Bristol as reported by a statement posted on his Instagram account yesterday.
The message detailed that Big Jeff was in a stable condition in a specialist burns unit in Swansea and asked people to keep him in their thoughts and prayers.
A true legend of the Bristol music scene, I myself remember his head frequently bobbing at the front of nearly every show I went to when I lived in the city. He began going to shows while at college as a means of coping with his anxiety and to give him reason to leave his accommodation which was often a great source of it. Gigs became a safe space for him where he could escape judgment and enjoy the music he loved, and before long he could be seen on the front row of multiple shows a week.
Having now racked up attendance at over 4000 shows since his days at college as reported by the BBC, Big Jeff has also turned his attention to being an artist over the years and quite a celebrated one at that. Placing as a finalist in this years Bristol Life Awards, Jeff’s exhibition “Welcome To My World” drew great acclaim from fellow artists and critics in the Bristol scene. Explaining the intention of his work on his website, he says “The aim of this work is to surprise and challenge the viewer. It is intended to instigate conversations”. He then goes on to describe how art has been a great personal help to him in expressing emotions that aren’t always easy to discuss “Art for me has been about expressing emotions I can’t explain another way. These paintings highlight my issues with barriers and hidden anxiety and mental health. How people see me is one thing – but internally I sometimes feel completely different. I use art as a way of expressing things that aren’t always easy to discuss”.
A shining light and a true ambassador for Bristol and the South West, Big Jeff has long been an avid music lover and entrenched force for good in the UK. We wish him the swiftest of recoveries and hope to see him down on the front row again soon.
